British Prime Minister David Cameron struck a deal in which the U.K. will export £45 million — about $73 million — worth of pig semen to China. The deal follows an agreement the two countries struck last year for the export of live pigs.
Apparently the Brits have bred some awesome pigs, and China really likes pork. China’s demand for pork is exploding — the OECD predicts that China will surpass the European Union as the world’s largest per-person consumer of pig meat by 2020 — and the country has a shortage. So they will try to up their pig population with the best swine semen in the world.
A Cameron spokesman told the Financial Times, “We’re doing all we can to ensure that businesses up and down the country reap the rewards from our relationship with China. And that includes our pig farmers.”
In fact, England plans to capitalize on their pigs even further. “And we’re not stopping there — we’re talking to the Chinese about serving up pigs trotters on Beijing’s finest dining tables,” the spokesman said. “That would be a real win-win — a multimillion-pound boost for Britain and a gastronomic treat for Chinese diners.”